Georgina was born on 24 August 1920 and her birth was registered in the East Ward district of Westmorland.

Sometime in the first quarter of 1944 Georgina married Joseph Lynn Cuffley and a report of the wedding was published in the Penrith Observer of 22 February (image taken from (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).

CUFFLEY – AISBITT, AT KIRKBY STEPHEN

The marriage took place at Kirkby Stephen, conducted by the Rev C F Cardale, of Mr Joseph Lynn Cuffley and Miss Geanie Aisbitt, only daughter of Mr and Mrs M Aisbitt, The Crescent, Kirkby Stephen.The bride was given away by her father and wore a white satin beaute dress, with train, her veil being held in place by a spray of silk camelias. She wore white shoes and carried a bouquet of pink carnations with a “lucky” horseshoe. Miss Ethel Madden, who was her bridesmaid, was attired in a figured taffeta turquoise dress with short matching veil and gold shoes. Her bouquet was of tulips. Sergeant Conrad Maurar, Australian Air Force, was best man. Mr Donald Aisbitt (bride’s brother) was the usher.After the reception in the Temperance Hall, Mr and Mrs Cuffley went to Morecambe for their honeymoon, the bride travelling in a blue wool marocain dress, blue camel hair coat with shoes and hat to tone. The bridegroom’s gift to the bridesmaid was a handbag.The bridegroom has been in the Forces for 31/2 years as a despatch rider in the R.E. The bride attended Kirkby Stephen Grammar School. She studied for the teaching profession, which she intends to continue at St Hild’s College, Durham. For the past three years she has been on the staff of Havelock Junior School, Sunderland, from which she received a handsome mirror. The children of her own class combined to give her a brush and comb tray.

Robert Titterrington is the husband of Mary Ann Paley, my 1st cousin 2x removed. Mary Ann’s parents are William Thomas Paley and Lilian Holden Coates. Our common ancestors are my 2x great grandparents James Paley and Mary Ann Spink.

Robert was born on 27 August 1905 in Skipton, Yorkshire to parents Robert and Ada Titterington. He was baptised on 24 September 1905 at Holy Trinity Church, Skipton.

Sometime in the December quarter of 1931 Robert and Mary Ann were married. They had one son whose birth is registered in the March quarter of 1934.

When the 1939 Register was taken at the outbreak of WW2 Robert and Mary Ann were living at 37 Ash Grove, Ilkley, West Yorkshire. Robert was working as an Insurance Agent.

Sometime after that Robert joined the Royal Navy – his service number was C/MX824444. He served on board HMS Virago as a Sick Berth Attendant (SBA).

HMS Virago was a V-class destroyer built by Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom. The Virago was launched on 4 February 1943 and was in service in the Arctic convoys, the Normandy landings and in the Far East.

HMS Virago

HMS Viargo patrolled the Malacca Strait and supported Operation Dracula off the coast of Burma in late April 1945. Subsequently she participated in the Battle of the Malacca Strait with Saumarez, Verulam,Venus and Vigilant which culminated in the sinking of the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro on 16 May 1945. This was a textbook destroyer night action, and was the last naval gun battle of the Second World War.

Sadly it was also in this battle that Robert Titterington died on 16 May 1945.

Virago participated in preparations for Operation Zipper (the invasion of Malaya) in July/August 1945, and its eventual execution as a reoccupation manoeuvre in September 1945 following the surrender of Japan. Based in Hong Kong with the British Pacific Fleet after VJ day, Virago returned to Chatham, Kent in December 1945.

I guess that Robert, along with others killed in action would have been buried at sea. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial in Kent, United Kingdom.

James Paley and Mary Ann Paley (nee Spink) are my 2x great grandparents. They’ve only had very brief mentions in my blog up until now. So having recently found their gravestone at St Peter’s church in Rylstone, North Yorkshire it’s time to write about them.

James Paley

James was born c1828 to parents William Paley and Mary Blackey. He was baptised on 23 March 1828 at Linton in Craven, Yorkshire.

As far as I have been able to establish James was the third of at least six children – his siblings were:-

I have James on the 1841 census at Threshfield, Yorkshire and in 1851 at Drebley (about 5 miles from his home) living and working as a “farm labourer”

Mary Ann Spink

Mary Ann was born 20 June 1832 to parents John Spink and Sophia Shuttleworth Kitching. She was baptised 4 days later at Conistone, Yorkshire.

Mary Ann was the first of at least seven children – her siblings were:-

Ellen – baptised 19 March 1834
James – baptised 1 May 1836
Joseph – born 11 March 1838 and baptised 15 March 1838
Sophia – baptised 8 September 1839
John – baptised 5 June 1841 and died early 1842
John – baptised 6 August 1843

I have Mary Ann in the 1841 census at home and in 1851 living and working in Keighley, West Yorkshire as a “servant”.

And that is where I thought I was going to move on and tell you about James and Mary Ann after they married. However, sometimes when you look at the records afresh you spot things you might have previously missed.

Searching the “Spink” baptisms in Conistone for this blog post I noticed one for Annie Elizabeth Spink on 18 June 1852. The baptism record shows the mother as Mary Anne Spink (spinster). Could it be that my Mary Ann became pregnant while living in Keighley and returned home to have her baby?

Looking again at the 1861 census for John and Sophia Spink (Mary Ann’s parents) there is Ann Elizabeth Spink listed as “granddaughter”. I’m sure that I would have spotted that before but for some reason didn’t try to find out who the parents were – well now I know!! More research required about Annie Elizabeth I think.

Ok – back to James and Mary Ann. They married on 11 April 1857 at Conistone.

Over the next eighteen years they had at least ten children:-

John – born 1857 and died 1858
Ellen – born 2 December 1858 (my great grandmother)
Mary – born 2 December 1858
Sophia – baptised 25 August 1861
James – born 20 January 1864
Margaret Ann – baptised 22 October 1865
William Thomas – born 21 October 1867
Martha Jane – born 24 January 1870
Betsy – born 19 December 1871
Francis – born and died 1875

I have James and Mary Ann on all the census returns from 1861 to 1901. James is variously described as a farmer, road contractor or general labourer. For all of their married life they lived in the village of Hetton in the Yorkshire Dales.

James died of bronchitis on 16 April 1903 – five days after their 47th wedding anniversary. He was 75 years of age.

Mary Ann lived for a further four months and died of angina on 18 August 1903 at the age of 71. In her will she left effects valued at £451 6s 2d to her son James.

A day out in the Yorkshire Dales today looking for the gravestone of my 2x great grandparents James Paley and Mary Ann Paley (nee Spink).

I knew that they were buried at St Peter’s church in Rylstone, North Yorkshire, about seven miles north of Skipton.

So we set off this morning under grey clouds and rain. It’s only about an hour or so from our home and by the time we got there the weather had improved – although we got wet feet tramping through the grass in the grave yard.

Anyway we found the grave and I will post a blog story and photo’s next week.

St Peter’s was built in 1852-1853 to a design by the Lancaster architect E G Paley (as far as I can tell he is no relation to my Paley’s) replacing an earlier church on the site. Its total cost was £1700 (equivalent to £160,000 in 2015).

The church is a Grade II Listed Building and is an active Anglican church in the deanery of Skipton, the archdeaconry of Craven and the diocese of Bradford.

The churchyard contains four war graves, of a Yorkshire Regiment officer and Royal Navy seaman of the First World War and a Royal Artillery soldier and airman of the Second World War. We didn’t see those graves today so I think another visit is required.

My great grandmother Ellen Hurtley (nee Paley) died on this day in 1934 at the age of 75.

Ellen is one of my ancestors with missing information because I can’t find a registered birth for her. I know from census returns and from her death certificate that she was born about 1859. I have searched the GRO records both online and on microfiche at Leeds Library. I am fairly confident that there is no birth registered [UPDATED]. Well what do I know!! One of my regular readers, Richard Thornton, has emailed me with details of a birth registered in Skipton Q3 1858 for Ellen Saley – I’ll be ordering the certificate today.

Ellen’s parents were James Paley and Mary Anne Spink. They had at least six other children and I have been able to find registered births for five of those children. The other missing birth is for Mary Paley.

Thankfully I made a breakthrough recently!!!

I discovered a baptism record for Ellen Paley and Mary Paley on 3 December 1858 at Conistone in the Yorkshire Dales. Ellen and Mary were twins.

I have been able to find Ellen on all the census returns from 1861 to 1911. She was at home with her parents in 1861 and 1871. Then in 1881 she was working as a “domestic servant” at 4 Water Street, Skipton for Margaret Cooper (widow).

Ellen married James Hurtley on 5 February 1885 in the parish church at Rilstone, near Skipton. They were living in Flasby at the time of the 1891 census then in Silsden (1901) and finally Cononley in 1911.

It also seems that Ellen had a daughter before she married James Hurtley – Annie Paley (birth registered September1881). I haven’t yet obtained a birth certificate for Annie so haven’t been able to confirm whether or not a father is shown.

Ellen’s death certificate shows that she died at home – 58 Main Street, Cononley and that her daughter Jessie Brown was present at death.